The Single Dad and his Soul Mate Read online

  “I’ll bet it did.”

  “I think I’ve had enough for tonight,” I said, suddenly tired. I wanted to pick up my son and go home, but Cooper had really been looking forward to spending the night with his “aunts.”

  “Okay. Why don’t you come back to my place for a while? We can watch a movie or something,” Nick suggested.

  “Sure.” That sounded better than going home to an empty apartment.

  We said goodbye to Tease and walked to where Nick had parked his black Santa Fe.

  “Why were you outside?” he asked as he pulled out of the lot.

  “I was hot and wanted to drink my water in peace.” I held up my bottle as though to prove it. “Kilbourne approached me and started talking.”

  “The guy is bad news.”

  “I didn’t want to talk to him,” I defended, a little embarrassed that Tease had thought he’d needed to keep an eye on me, probably because I was Nick’s friend. “There were people around. He didn’t try to jump me or anything.”

  “I wouldn’t put it past him, and if he had, I’m sure you would have been glad to have Tease there to pull the fucker off you.”

  I was sure he was right about that.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Matteo

  “What do you fucking mean, Kilbourne was talking to Flynn?”

  I stood outside the hospital, the collar of Tease’s leather jacket crumpled in my fist. We were both there to see Mick—I’d just finished making a call in the lobby and Jared was arriving—and when he’d told me, an orderly had ordered me to take my outburst outside.

  “Just what I said, man. He was talking to Flynn outside The Banana last night.” Tease jerked out of my grip.

  “And you let it happen?” I was seeing red. Just the thought of that asshole near my Flynn made me crazy.

  A voice deep inside reminded me he wasn’t my Flynn anymore, but I ignored it because of course he damn well was. He always had been, and he always would be.

  “It was already happening. I just hung around to make sure nothing bad took place.”

  My racing heart slowed to a more normal beat.

  “Okay. Sorry. Tell me.”

  “Kilbourne was chatting up your ex but not touching him or anything, and then he started bad-mouthing Nick—”

  “Nick?”

  “Evidently, your ex was there with Nick.”

  His name’s Flynn.” I didn’t like him being referred to as my “ex.”

  “Kilbourne was telling Flynn what a whore Nick is, and when I heard, I let him have it.”

  “Good for you,” I said, because any of us would have done the same for one of our own. And as Jeo loved Nick, Nick was one of our own. Plus, Nick wasn’t and never had been a whore and didn’t deserve to be called one. “Sorry, man.” I patted Tease’s chest. “I didn’t mean to go off on you like that. I just hate that motherfucker Kilbourne. Especially after having seen Mick.” I looked toward the hospital doors.

  Tease nodded. “How’s he doing?”

  I appreciated that Tease hadn’t taken offense to my grabbing him like I had, or we easily might have gotten into a scrap. I could only imagine how angry having two of his club members turn on one another in public would have made Blaze, and for good reason. A club divided was a club that wouldn’t last long.

  “He was asleep when I saw him, but he looked like shit.”

  I walked back inside the hospital with Tease. Mick’s arm was broken along with most of his ribs, and his face and body bruised, but the doctor said he’d be okay. We’d been visiting him one at a time.

  “I’ll go back upstairs with you,” I said. “I just came down to make a phone call. Reception sucks up there.”

  “Hey, guys.” Nick came hurrying toward us just as we stepped onto the elevator. “I tried to get here earlier, but Cane had me on the phone all morning.”

  Nick worked for Cane and Tony in a high-rise building downtown. He wasn’t wearing shoes with heels that day and had to lean his head back to look up at me and Tease. “How’s Mick?”

  “Doctor said he’ll heal. He’ll be here a while, though.”

  “Shit. Good thing he has insurance now.”

  The last time Mick had landed in the hospital, the club had started a Go Fund Me page to help him pay the extensive bills. He wasn’t exactly part of the club, but a couple of the guys had fucked him and besides, he was a nice kid, and since he’d been living with Dante and Isaac, had become the club’s pet.

  Nick turned to Tease with a wide smile and launched himself at the burly man. “My hero!”

  Tease caught Nick and allowed himself to be hugged to death. I had to grin at the look on his face.

  “Matteo, you should have seen the way this guy defended my honor,” Nick gushed, still clinging to Tease. “I felt like one of those princesses watching their knight in battle. All I needed was a hanky to wave.” He fluttered his eyelashes, and I lost it, breaking into laughter.

  Tease sighed but wrapped an arm around Nick, squeezing him back as the elevator doors opened on the fourth floor. “Don’t make too much out of it. I just calmed this one down.” He gestured to me.

  Nick turned big blue eyes on me. “Why? What happened?”

  We stepped out of the elevator. “I just didn’t like it that Kilbourne had been bothering Flynn, that’s all.”

  “Flynn can take care of himself,” Nick said.

  I couldn’t stop myself. “He was there with you?”

  “Yeah. We’d been dancing, and he took a break to drink some water outside. That’s when Kilbourne zeroed in on him.”

  Another wave of anger rose up in me at the thought. “And where was Flynn’s other half during this?”

  Nick looked at me blankly. “You mean me? I was—”

  “No, I don’t mean you; I mean his husband.” Saying the word was hard. “Where was he while Kilbourne was trying to bag Flynn?”

  Nick opened then closed his mouth. He frowned.

  “What?” I asked, impatiently. What kind of man let a guy as gorgeous as Flynn loose at a club without keeping an eye on him?

  “Flynn’s not married. What gave you the idea he was?”

  I stared, anger draining out of me. Flynn wasn’t married?

  “He has a kid, so I thought…” I trailed off as the three of us made our way to Mick’s hospital room.

  “He’s raising Cooper on his own,” Nick said.

  “Oh.” I swallowed. Beautiful inside and out, Flynn had so much to give. I’d felt sure he’d been snapped up by now, and the presence of the kid had made me even more certain.

  “Hey!” Jeo called to us, closing the door to Mick’s room behind him.

  Nick smiled hugely and hurried to Jeo, plastering himself against his boyfriend. I was pretty sure Nick had never heard of the words “personal space.” He looked up at the Brazilian with adoration. “Hi, Daddy.”

  Wow. A lot had happened in the months I’d made myself scarce. I knew they were dating, and was aware of their Daddy/boy dynamic, but it hadn’t been that long ago that Nick had been prone to throwing things at Jeo while calling him every dirty name in the book, and to see the naked emotion between the two of them was a little shocking.

  “You stay away from Kilbourne,” Jeo said. “I heard Tease here had to knock the crap out of that asshole.” I thought for sure Nick would bristle at being told what to do, but he only smiled and stood on his toes to receive a hard kiss that left him unsteady on his feet.

  “Mick wants to see you,” Jeo said when he’d let go of Nick, his voice much softer than it had been before they’d locked lips. “I’ll pick you up in a half hour.” Tearing his eyes away from his boy, he said to me and Tease, “See you guys,” before striding down the hall.

  “I’m gonna head back to the clubhouse,” Tease said to me. “I think Mick’s had enough company for the day.”

  As Tease headed for the small waiting room, I stood outside Mick’s door. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Nick had said: Flynn wasn�
��t married. It sounded as though he wasn’t even with someone. Why hadn’t I asked Nick about that? Why was I thinking about this at all?

  But the more I thought about Flynn not being taken, the more I wanted to go see him. Even though nothing had changed. Absolutely nothing. In seven years.

  How depressing was that?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Flynn

  All Saturday, Cooper regaled me with stories of what he’d done with Aunt Glo and Aunt Jess. They’d had that colorful cereal with the smooshy things in it. They’d built a fort out of blankets. They’d watched Dora the Explorer. Aunt Glo had dressed like a pirate (I wasn’t sure I wanted to know why she had that costume—hopefully it was for Halloween) while he and Aunt Jess had manned their ship under attack.

  I was pleased he’d had a pleasant time, telling myself it would’ve been an awful feeling if he’d cried all evening for me, but a part of me felt a little let down he wasn’t as attached at the hip as I was. Stupid, I knew.

  But Gloria and Jessica had praised me for getting out, even though Gloria had been disappointed by my boring retelling of the evening. Encouraged, I continued my intentions of getting out more and on Sunday took Cooper to a play group at the local library.

  “Look, Daddy!”

  The orange sign at the front of the building advertising the event was decorated with bats and spiders for Halloween.

  “We forgot my costume.” He started tugging me back to the car.

  “No, we won’t need it for this, buddy.” I hoped. Man, I’d feel like crap if I’d somehow missed that.

  Lucky for me, none of the kids had costumes on when we reached the lower floor where the gathering was taking place. A long table with a cheerful-looking jack-o’-lantern in the middle overflowed with snacks.

  “Hello.” A woman approached me with her hand out. She was my height and looked about twenty-three or so. “My name is April Spencer. Welcome.”

  I shook her hand. “Flynn Bishop. And this is my son, Cooper.” Suddenly shy, Coop ducked behind my leg.

  “We’re happy to have you here. We meet the last Sunday of every month here at the library. As you can see, this is our special Halloween celebration.”

  I looked around at the friendly cardboard ghosts and monsters hanging from the ceiling and the kids running around the basement area. A group of women sat in folding chairs near the wall.

  “I guess I’m the only dad,” I said.

  April nodded. “Yes. But we’re thrilled that you’re here. Come sit.”

  Cooper stuck to me like glue as I headed to the chairs, and he climbed up in my lap as soon as I was seated. April made introductions. Many of the ladies were stay-at-home moms with the exception of two. Elise was a kindergarten teacher and Madeline sold cosmetics.

  I couldn’t have felt more out of place if I tried, and Coop, no matter how much I encouraged him, would not leave my lap.

  “I think we’ll get some refreshments,” I said after a while. I took Cooper to the table. Picking up a plate, I began putting treats on it. “You really don’t want to play with the other kids?”

  Cooper shook his head. “I wanna go home.”

  “Let’s give it just a little more time,” I suggested. But fifteen minutes later, my son still wanted to go home, so I relented. Once upstairs, however, Cooper agreed to let me read to him, so I led him to the children’s section, and we sat on a bean bag for a couple of hours while I read book after book to him. The outing had been saved, but while we’d wound up having a nice time, we hadn’t managed what I’d brought us there to do: make friends and get Cooper involved.

  Later, while Coop napped, I talked on the phone with Jessica.

  “He was probably just overwhelmed,” she said. “It’s different from him coming over here. He’s known me and Gloria his whole life. He’s just not used to being around strangers.”

  “I take him to the park,” I said. He always plays with the kids there.

  “Maybe he just felt pressured at the group thing.”

  “God, what if he does this when school starts?” I worried. Had I messed up Cooper’s social skills?

  Jessica chuckled. “Kids react differently. Don’t stress over it.”

  I didn’t point out to Jessica that she didn’t have kids so wasn’t exactly an expert. “Listen, would you be willing to watch Cooper again this evening? Just for a couple of hours.”

  “Of course I wouldn’t mind!” Jessica sounded so surprised, I wondered if she’d thought I wouldn’t ask them to babysit ever again.

  “Thanks. I want to visit someone in the hospital.”

  I wasn’t well acquainted with Mick, but I’d talked to him a while at Dante’s house. I somehow felt connected to him now after having been chatted up by Kilbourne.

  A few minutes after five I entered the quiet hospital. When I got off the elevator on the fourth floor, my heart stuttered when I glimpsed someone in a leather jacket outside a door.

  Matteo shouldn’t be there this time of day. If things were like they used to be, he would either be heading into work or about to have dinner with his grandmother. I breathed a sigh of relief when the man turned slightly, and I realized I was looking at Dante, a hat and his jacket covering his long hair.

  “Hi,” I said when I reached him.

  “Hey.” He smiled. “What are you doing here? You know Mick?”

  “Just from your party. Nick told me about him being hurt, and I just wanted to come by and see him.” I held up the plant I’d bought in the gift shop.

  “I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. He’s only seeing people one at a time, and Isaac’s in there now. But after that, I’m sure he’d be glad to have another visitor.”

  I smiled and nodded, looking around.

  “How’s Cooper?” Dante asked.

  Pleased that he remembered my kid’s name and always happy to talk about my son, I smiled. “He’s doing great. He’s at my friends’ house right now.”

  “He’s a cutie,” Dante said.

  I nodded. “He is. I mean, I can’t take credit for that since he’s adopted, plus I’m his dad, and of course I’m going to think he’s cute. But he is.” I shrugged, embarrassed at how I was babbling.

  Dante flashed a grin worthy of the silver screen. I wouldn’t have been surprised if a glint of sunlight flashed off one of his perfect teeth. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t think so. You should bring him out to the house again sometime. He loved the ducks, didn’t he?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, the dogs as well. That’s really nice of you.”

  “I’m not just saying it. Isaac’s been talking about kids a lot, but I haven’t been around them much. I’d like to get to know Coop. And you, of course.”

  I worried my lip a minute before saying, “That might be awkward.”

  “Why? ‘Cause you and Matteo were once a thing?” When I just looked at him, he said, “Nah. It’ll be fine. Matty doesn’t come out our way often. It’s unlikely you’d run into him there. You two were a long time ago—no chance you could be friends?”

  I stared at the plant in my hands. “I don’t think so.”

  “That’s too bad. But I know how breakups go. They’re usually messy.” He ought to know. If I remembered correctly, Dante had had about a million of them before he got with Isaac.

  The door to Mick’s room opened, and Isaac appeared. He smiled when he saw me and gave me a hug. It wasn’t hard to figure out how he’d reformed a player like Dante.

  “Flynn, it’s great to see you again.” Isaac asked about Cooper, and when Dante told him about the invitation, Isaac seconded it enthusiastically.

  When I finally got inside Mick’s room, I was a little flustered. I mean, the guys had all been great to me at the barbecue, but I hadn’t expected them to want to see me again. When I saw the black and blue face of the young man in the bed, I stopped dead in my tracks.

  “Pretty bad, huh?” Mick tried for a rueful smile, but it looked more like a grimace.

  “Yeah, uh, n
o. I mean, you look fine. Well, not fine, but…”

  Mick’s body shook with laughter and he moaned. “Stop, please. Ow.” He grinned and gestured to the plant with a bandaged hand. “For me?”

  “Yeah.” I set it on the windowsill next to a card and balloon and scooted a chair closer to the bed. “I hope you don’t mind my coming by. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

  “They tell me I’ll live,” Mick said.

  “I met the guy who did that to you the other night at the club. Nick told me all about it. He’s pretty scary. The guy—Kilbourne—not Nick, of course. Although I’d imagine Nick could be scary if he wanted to be.” I bit my lip. “Sorry, I tend to run my mouth when I’m nervous.”

  “No need to be nervous around me. Kilbourne is a jerk. I can’t believe he came after me where I work.” He shuddered.

  “Why is he doing this to you?” I asked quietly.

  “I made the mistake of dating him,” Mick said.

  I couldn’t imagine anyone dating that big hunk of scary.

  Mick continued, “I met Kil at The Banana, and he was all smooth charm and demanding Daddy, you know? I couldn’t resist. I really wish I had.” He coughed, winced, and I grabbed the cup of water off the table and held the straw to his mouth. He took a couple of sips before leaning back on the pillows with a murmur of thanks.

  “I don’t really know why he won’t leave me alone,” he said after a moment. “I think he just gets off on terrorizing me, and at the same time riling up the Hedonists. I’ve asked them to just forget about it. They only make things worse in the end.”

  “What about the police?” I asked.

  “They don’t want to get involved with the motorcycle gangs, plus the cops out in Henry, where I live, are pretty shitty to the gays. They refused to believe I knew who attacked me. Said I was out in the alley in the dark and it was probably a mugging, never mind that my wallet was still on me with all the money still in it. And never mind I’d only gone out there because someone had made a noise like a hurt cat but there was no cat.”

  “That sucks,” I said. “I’m really sorry.”